Notes from the Pirate Era
by Elin B
Summary: Another collection of stand-alone ficlets. Primarily Strawhat-centric. Mostly gen; a few with pairings which are indicated at the start of each story, as are spoiler warnings. All stories take up one 'chapter' each and are usually under 1000 words.
1. Stowaway

AUTHOR'S NOTES FOR THE WHOLE COLLECTION: "Notes from the Pirate Era" is the umbrella title for this collection of stand-alone ficlets. Each "chapter" is a complete piece in itself. Most, though not all, of these short stories were originally inspired by challenge prompts on the Livejournal writing communities onepiece_300 and onepieceyaoi100, for which the upper word limit is 300 words. However, I've expanded quite a few of these ficlets after the initial posting into more words – and some were quite a bit longer to begin with.

Spoilers, main character and pairings – when there is a pairing, but mostly there isn't – will be given before the start of each ficlet, under "Author's Notes" at the top of the page.

Nitpicks and other forms of concrit are very much appreciated!

DISCLAIMER FOR THE WHOLE COLLECTION: The characters and situations of One Piece were created and are owned by Eiichiro Oda. They are used here without permission for entertainment purpose only. This fanfic is not intended for profit and may not be used as such. Using proper disclaimers is the polite thing to do.

Author's Notes for the first ficlet: This was originally written for the prompt "Afterwards" at onepiece_300. Spoilers for the end of the Alabasta arc and the start of the Jaya arc. Character: Nico Robin. Word Count:

Stowaway

The rain had finally returned to the entire desert kingdom. The true enemy of the land, revealed at last, was defeated; and Alabasta could finally start healing and hoping again. Now, the losing side which had tried to take over the country were the ones hunted as fugitives, mainly by Marines though both the King's troops and the erstwhile rebels were happy to help when they could.

Still weak and wounded from Crocodile's stabbing, the former Miss Allsunday was sitting in the back of a cart going down to Sinapis, dressed in rags like one ex-rebel soldier among many.

It was all over, now.

And yet she was alive.

She didn't trust any of the Baroque Works agents to keep her hidden: she was far too valuable a prize for the Marines, far too tempting to sell out. True, she had talked to Bon Clay, making plans concerning a certain ship, but only because she'd had no choice. Bon Clay talked a good game about friendship, but Robin had heard pretty phrases before, and seen them proved lies many times before.

He was going ahead right now, but they were to meet up outside Sinapis later, from where she'd help him sail the Strawhats' ship up the river. After that, she would stay out of sight on the ship for as long as she could.

Monkey D. Luffy might turn her away, but she doubted it. After all, she'd saved him twice now, with water and antidote. He'd remember.

Robin had been ready to die. All those years of scrabbling to survive, to run away, to make plans, they'd all seem to come to nothingness in that ancient tomb, as great blocks of stone were falling down all around them. But Luffy had refused to let her. So. He simply had to take the consequences for that.

Still… that look on his face in that moment, saying he didn't care what she wanted, he'd save her anyway… It unnerved her. _Dangerous..._

No. She'd be all right. She'd keep herself safely apart, like always, so it wouldn't hurt when she'd be forced to leave. She wouldn't drop her guard, no matter how young and naïve that crew was.

It was only for the time being, after all.


	2. Still There

Author's Notes: Spoilers/setting: Takes place on the night after chapter 439, post Water 7/Enies Lobby, pre-Thriller Bark. Pairing: light Luffy/Usopp. Word count: 338.

Still There

The brand new ship rocked gently on the waves for its first night at sea. The sky was clear and bright with stars, and it would have made an excellent night for navigating, if only the crew had been large enough to handle night shifts as well. As it was, everyone but the look-out had gone to bed, and the ship was anchored to the sea bottom many hundreds of yards below. After a day full of excitement, the Thousand Sunny was taking its first bit of well-earned air of the men's cabin was full of many different kinds of snoring. One after the other, they'd finally all fallen asleep, most of them long after midnight. But even now some of them kept waking up from time to time.

"Hey, Usopp?" came a mumble from somewhere in the cosy darkness.

"..Mmyeah?" said a drowsy voice from somewhere else.

"You still there?"

"Yeah."

"...Okay. Just checking."

"Okay."

"Mhm."

"...Hey, Luffy?"

"Yeah?"

"This is your hand, isn't it?"

"Umm...yes?"

A small sigh. "Luffy, if you've got your hand right under my shoulder, then why do you need to ask if I'm here?"

"Heh heh...Just checking." His grin was practically audible in the darkness.

"Yeah, okay. Good." There was the warmth of an answering smile that one also couldn't see. "I'm just checking, too."

"Okay."

Usopp turned in his wooden hammock, shifting position, but didn't loose his hold of Luffy's hand. He put it under his cheek like one might do with one's own hand, trying to sleep.

"Not letting _you_ go," he murmured, very very quietly.

"Huh? Whaddya say?"

"Ah, nothing. G'night, Luffy."

"G'night, Usopp." Luffy rolled over in his bunk as well, not trying to pull his hand back. The room soon had even more snores in it.

Tomorrow they'd haul the anchor and unfurl the sails and keep moving forward. And there would be lots of things to do. But tonight, they'd make do with the adventures in their dreams, where another ship was already waiting.


	3. The Story Is The Story

Author's Notes: Originally written for the LiveJournal writing community onepiecyaoi100 to the prompt "canon". Spoilers for Skypiea, set pretty much any time after Skypiea. Features Chopper and a revisit to the "Liar Norland" story. Word Count: 299.

The Story Is The Story

"You're not telling it right, Mister Reindeer."

Chopper glanced nervously at the two kids in front of him. He had little experience at reading to children, but the others had all left and_ someone _had to look after them on this dangerous island until their father could be located. At least these girls had been rather quiet and serious until now, and didn't seem to see him as either a monster or a stuffed toy.

"I'm telling you what really happened," he explained. "Norland _wasn't_ a liar. The gold really was there, and half the island did disappear like he thought. Only not into the sea but up in the air."

He told them of how half of Jaya had been shot up into the sky; how its inhabitants had fought with the Skypieans for hundreds of years, constantly trying to sound their great golden bell to let Norland's descendants know that they were still there and waiting; and how, after the hardest, most terrible struggles and with help from visitors from the blue sea, that wish had finally come true.

They listened intently, eyes wide and mouths hanging open.

When he'd finished, the younger sister mumbled, "I think that was even better than the picture book."

"It was pretty good," the older sister admitted. "But it's still not how the story's supposed to go."

Chopper stared at her, baffled. "But the book is _lying_!" he burst out. "That's what really happened – I know, I was there! I stole some of that gold!"

She looked impressed, but still shook her head. "It's not how it _goes_, Mister" she insisted stubbornly.

They kept arguing, but in the end, he had to pick another book.

Usopp and Robin tried to explain this to him later. But Chopper thought he would _never_ understand.


	4. Can't Let Go

Author's notes: Set right after the end of Thriller Bark. Originally written for the prompt "Fear" at onepiece_300. Features Zoro. Word Count: 301. Origina summary: 'Some people come to terms with their pasts. Others prefer not to.'

Can't Let Go

He's seen an orange-haired girl in a strawhat nod and sniffle "Sure" in response to her captain's declaration; then later watched as she jumped aboard, loaded with her neighbours' wallets.

He's seen pink snow gently float down like cherry blossom petals over a wintry kingdom, and has felt the touch of rain coming to the desert kingdom at last.

He's come to know at least a small part of the darkness that Robin has carried around, and has seen her finally defy herself and her past to cry out her will to live.

He's watched Merry burned down with all of them, standing right next to Usopp silently weeping his farewell behind the mask.

He's seen Franky cry his goodbyes to an entire town as his old friend sets him straight and he's able to forgive himself his past.

And yesterday he was sitting by Brook's side in Thriller Bark in front of a newly-dug grave, his body aching and his mind at peace, saying a silent goodbye to Yubashiri as Brook does the same with his old crew.

Those are all great and good things. For them.

But he remembers when he last saw that Marine woman, when she pushed her glasses back and challenged him again. He recalls bright young eyes, glittering of supreme skill and darkening in yearning envy… the goddamn bitter unfairness of it all, as he made the only possible choice he could, grabbing hold of his promise and never letting go.

The thought that somehow he might fail her, might betray her by losing his hold on her before reaching their dream, is intolerable. And deeply frightening.

So the next time he sees that Marine, Tashigi, he'll probably still prefer to bolt rather than face her. Because that's the one fear he's afraid to master.


	5. Castle

Authors's Notes: Originally written for the prompt "shelter" at the LJ community onepiece_300. Features Aisa (the young Shandoran girl from the Skypiea arc who can sense people's 'voices' – conscious minds). Spoilers for the end of Skypiea arc; takes place at least a month or so after that. The word count is 300.

Castle

The rain kept falling on the great leaves, making a great rustling sound on the roof of driftwood and plaited leaves of her treehouse. Aisa pulled up her knees and leaned her chin on them, looking out into the rainy, misty green world, tired and content.

It wasn't that she minded being in Shandora, in the great old city her people had fought so hard for. Both Shandians and Skypieans lived there now, but still there were plenty of empty old buildings – plenty of room to explore and play and just look at. She hadn't grown tired of that, and she hadn't stopped feeling proud of her ancestors (and bragging to Skypiean kids about them); nor about the sight as well as the sound of the great golden bell of Shandora.

But there were always so many people around, so many voices in Aisa's head in that direction. That was okay, but… sometimes she wanted to be by herself.

For weeks now, she'd been building this house, looking for the right kinds of branches and driftwood and all sorts of scraps, gathering vines and twining them, borrowing tools from Conis' father…

And now it was done, and it was _wonderful_. And she'd done it all by herself, too! Nobody else even knew where it was. You couldn't even see it from the ground if you didn't know it was there. (Probably.)

Maybe she'd show it to Raki and Conis someday, though. Conis was okay, she probably wouldn't laugh. Aisa wasn't as sure sure about the two Skypiean kids she'd started playing with, however. Mostly they were nice but sometimes they could be snotty and stupid. Maybe eventually… if they asked her _really_ nice.

It was only for now, wouldn't last very long. But it was all new, and all hers.


	6. Appreciation

Author's Notes: Takes place any time after Water 7/Enies Lobby. Originally written for the prompt "Skills" at the Livejournal writing community onepiece_300. Characters/Pairing: Features Robin and Usopp, probably just friendship but you're welcome to see shippy subtext if you like. Word count: 300

Appreciation

When Usopp at his workbench started moaning in despair, wailing about missing his favourite wrench, the extra-flexible one he'd fought a fire-breathing, two-headed Carpenter Monster for (or swapped from Tyleston for a smell dial, depending on what version you preferred), how it wasn't to be found anywhere and _could he actually_ have been stupid enough to leave it outside when the last storm hit, Robin had looked up from her flowerbed and closed her eyes.

She opened sixty other eyes, all over the ship, and after one minute she spotted a small instrument looking forlorn in a corner of the engine room, told Usopp he could go look there, then went back to watering the flowers.

When she heard running feet in heavy shoes tumble back up the steps, she wasn't surprised to hear his shout of joy and relief, nor the ecstatic cry "Robin! You make the best spy ever!", though it still made her chuckle. She wouldn't have been too surprised over a hug, either, though Usopp, unlike Nami and Chopper, was rarely that free with her.

What she didn't expect was him leaning up on tiptoes and kissing her on the cheek.

She blinked, nonplussed for once, and he quickly broke off and jumped back. "Ah, s-sorry about that! It was just –" he waved his hands, blushing, "I was just so happy and you looked so pretty – I dunno, maybe I've got Sanji germs today - don't hit me!"

Then he scooted back to his work, back to taking scraps and make something new and unique, with clever hands and busy brain; knowing he was good at it but not, Robin suspected, believing it amounted to much. And quite unaware of how unusual and precious his talents were… including the talent to reach out and surprise her.


	7. She Ain't Heavy, She's My Sister

Author's Notes: Originally written for the prompt "Reliance" at LJ community onepiece_300. Set before the series starts, so no real spoilers unless you count for Nami's backstory. No pairing. Characters: Nami and Nojiko. Word Count: 133

She Ain't Heavy, She's My Sister

Once, she was told about it; the small child carrying a baby among the corpses, stumbling across a third survivor, a battle-scarred Marine. And then they were a family.

Throughout her childhood, Nojiko was there, one step ahead, ready to scold and protect, explain and play.

Nami's relying on no-one but herself, now. But if there wasn't for this one person in the whole world trusting her, believing she'll be able to do it, she wonders if there'd be anything left of the real Nami at all.

It may be for the best that she's the one with the mapmaking skills, not Nojiko. Sure, her sister might handle being in Arlong's crew and gathering treasure – but Nami couldn't do what she does, could never offer as much support as Nojiko's strong, tattooed shoulder.


	8. Too Kind

Author's Notes: First written for the prompt "Restrained Sanji" at .com/onepieceyaoi100", later expanded. Takes place after Thriller Bark and before Sabaõdy and contains spoilers for the former. Features Sanji and Usopp: can be taken as a Sanji/Usopp pairing, onesided Sanji-Usopp; or no pairing at all, only strong friendship. Word Count: 431. Moderately angsty flavour.

Too Kind

Sometimes Usopp will run out of words as he's sitting in Sunny's galley, doing chores or just hanging out. There'll be a trickle of talk and then silence and when Sanji glances behind him there's an empty look or uselessly moving fingers or a crouch in Usopp's figure that makes Sanji's stomach turns cold or his throat lumpy. And then he may wonder again what exactly 'already negative' means, anyway.

Then Sanji turns back to his work and it happens that there's something restless moving inside him, something angry and fearful, rising like a wave, pushing at him to go over to his crewmate, grab him and say the right words, the needed words. To haul him back in from threatening waves, to hold him close and stave off hurt and make the worry – Sanji's worry, that is - go away forever.

But he knows. _I can't reach him this way_. At times Sanji might meet Usopp's eyes and see an evasive, fearful look – but there'll also be a touch of annoyance and maybe disapproval, warning Sanji off. _He'll think it's just concern_. Sanji has let the mask slip too many times, he fears, letting protectiveness through but not, perhaps, enough of his own need. Making it seem like it's only the stronger crewmate worried about the weaker.

Why does it feel this way now? They used to just know where they had each other, Usopp and him. Sanji had been prepared for things feeling different after Usopp finally rejoined the crew when they left Water 7, but he found himself falling back to his old ease with the sniper practically immediately. And it seemed to be so for Usopp too, at least with Sanji.

Maybe it's because of Zoro's sacrifice, the one that only Sanji and Brook know about, and cannot tell the others - maybe that's shaking other things loose as well. Or maybe it's got something to do with Perona and her ghosts.

_I don't want to stand in the way of you getting stronger. _He lights his cigarette with forced calm and stays put right where he is, saying nothing; knowing he can't cross this line unless he's invited across it. And that might not happen.

He knows this, but that doesn't make it easier: there's an urge in him that doesn't care about respecting boundaries and letting someone gain inner strength, that just wants to rescue and protect. A dangerous wave, one that looks like kindness but could, perhaps, lead to destruction.

He watches himself and doesn't take those few steps. And the moment, eventually, passes.


	9. Ownerships

A/N: This ficlet was originally written for the prompt "mine" on a chaos thread. Warning for 2nd person narrative (I usually don't do that, but it seemed to fit the idea).

Spoilers up to and including manga chapter 489 (end of Thriller Bark). Word Count:271.

Ownerships

Sometimes the objects that matter the most are not the ones that truly belong to us. Maybe you've dreamed of building a great ship capable of travelling all around the world, but when the chance finally come you can only allow yourself to go through with it by building it for somebody else. The ship belongs to all the crew and to the captain the most, not to its builder.

Or you need a log pose to do your job, and having a treasure around is always a good idea - but those things belong to the whole crew as well, not really to you. You are only the caretaker.

Or you carry a sword that belonged to someone else and you still think of as only half your own. You can wield it but only on the condition you will never forget what it means. There are two other swords that truly do belong to you, earned through your own merits, but they don't matter even half as much.

Or there's a song that was sung by men long dead that you keep stored in an amazing device, hidden in your skull. It will be taken out and listened to again on the day your promise is finally fulfilled. You carry it in their name. It isn't yours.

And the battered strawhat resting on your captain's head will be returned one day to the man who gave it to him for safekeeping. It's the sign of a very important promise; it's what the world names him and his crew for: but it doesn't fully belong to him. You do, though.


	10. Inner Hearth

Author's Notes: Originally written for the LJ writing community onepieceyaoi100 to the prompt "Warmth". Takes place any time after Chopper joins but before Water 7. No pairings. Word count: 377.

Inner Hearth

The night is clear and crisp, stars glittering with sharp brightness over Going Merry. Chopper's smiling as he takes over guard duty from the shivering Sanji, whose teeth are chattering as he slowly climbs down, hands in mittens. There's frost on the main mast, and on the railing.

He really likes seeing all the wildly different climates of the Grand Line, how they shift on the open sea, and the more stable systems on each island. Hot summer island weather tires him out, but on the whole he loves feeling and the variety, seeing the sky turns shades of colour he never knew, smelling other kinds of air.

Yet these cold snaps are nice, too. Not just because they're comfortable and familiar - but also because they make him feel more useful and needed to the rest of the crew. For instance when it comes to being watch on a night like this - unlike the others, he has no trouble with it, and so volunteers for a longer shift than usual.

He remembers how, in very cold weather, the herd used to huddle together, sharing their body heat. But he was always left on the outside, wondering what it might be like, all surrounded by others' warmth like that.

Luckily it rarely turned _that_ cold. Reindeer are built to handle wintry weather. He did, and survived.

The houses of the humans huddled together as well, the long coils of smoke from their chimneys mingling in the pale blue winter sky. He didn't need the heat from those fires, yet he was still drawn to them, fascinated. But those houses, like the herd, didn't admit outsiders, forming a wall against them.

He didn't fully understand until he found a welcoming fire of his own, the one in the small fireplace in Doctor's cave.

Chopper doesn't really need the blanket in the crow's nest, either. Nor the pot of hot tea and the handful of cookies that Sanji brings him, climbing up just once more before going to bed. But they make his heart feel warm.


	11. Repairs & Replacements

Author's Notes: Originally inspired by the prompt "Broken" on LJ writing community onepiece_300, though it was always too long for the comm limit of 300 words – this latest version has 504 words. It was my second response to that prompt.

This is set all over the place; there are spoilers up to and including Thriller Bark. No pairings. The scenes were originally separated by asterisks, but this disappears in Ffnet's formatting, alas.

Repairs and Replacements

-x-

"Then I'll leave my hat in your care." Yet now three daggers have been thrown at the strawhat, tearing through the crown. Luffy stares in shock, then turns white with rage, and explodes.

But after Buggy's defeated, Nami sews up the holes, and Luffy smiles happily. The world is set right again, and now he has a navigator to boot.

-x-x-

One effortless strike from Mihawk and Zoro's two black swords that he's carried since childhood are cut in half, blades falling down onto deck. Irreparable. _Everything's over_, flashes through Zoro's head for an instant; but Wadou is still in his mouth and he finds his pride isn't completely broken after all. If he can still stand he will go down fighting; if he's meant to survive this, he'll find himself new swords.

Months later, he will watch in mute disbelief as Yubashiri crumbles before his eyes. And even though this time it's due to a Devil Fruit power, not a superior swordsman, he can't help but wonder if this means his will still isn't strong enough.

-x-x-x-x-

The ship gets busted up by storms and seakings and cannonballs; by clumsy captains and bickering crewmates; by insane all-devouring kings, crazy apelike pirates and too many other weird things.

Usopp grumbles and mutters repeatedly that he's a sharpshooter, not a shipwright. Then he picks up hammer, nails and wood and gets to work patching Merry up, just trying to keep her going a little while longer. It's all he can do; it's not enough.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Chopper gets shy and stuttering when asked about the brace on his left antler, never really answering. He doesn't talk about the fight with the leader of the herd, much bigger than him, and the whole arduous, desperate quest to find a miraculous healing mushroom.

Although he didn't feel that way at the time, now he's happy that Doctorine fixed it up for him. If he had just the one antler, he couldn't fight as well as he does.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

After he's pretty much finished the work of converting his broken-down human body into a new mechanical one, Franky finally allows himself to pass out.

When he wakes up, the first thing he does is inscribe his hardware shoulders with "BF 36". All his earlier Battle Frankys, thirty-five in number, are gone now; and this cyborg body is the last in the line. He will never build another ship, he's decided. But at least this one won't break as easilyas the others.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

For Brook, death itself has been corrected. He has no blood to lose, no organs that can get hurt; he's truly nothing but bones and memory and will. His bones do break sometimes, in tough fights; but milk will heal them quickly.

But his afro, if cut, will never grow out again. And if that happens, his friend won't ever recognise him, which means his promise would be as good as broken. He claims he'll die before he lets that happens... only, dying is no excuse.


	12. Turning Point

Author's Notes: Originally written for the prompt "Hope" at onepiece_300 and since slightly revised, this ficlet is taken directly from canon, chapter 359 (Water 7). Word Count: 338.

Turning Point

It turns out he's not dead. The reindeer pirate carried him and Paulie out of the burning HQ, then collapsed. Iceburg is weak from smoke and gunshot and full-body clutches – but alive.

To what end, though? The World Government has Nico Robin. Soon, it will have the secret blueprints: their agents are stronger than Franky, who has no idea they're looking for him. And Aqua Laguna is coming.

He sits up laboriously, breath ragged in his burned chest. He feels dizzy. Over there on the grass, the Strawhat girl with orange hair is stirring. The wind is coming in hard, now.

There's little reason for hope, if any. He knows that. But he still owes them the truth.

So then he tells her – in private – what the woman known as a cold, heartless demon told him, believing he would die soon. She would never have revealed her reasons otherwise – he understands that much.

He flinches as she slumps forward – is it shock, guilt? Did he just make things worse? - But her whispers are of relief only. And the next moment, she's on her feet, ready to run away. She only stops and turns when he calls out to her.

Iceburg blinks. There's much, much more than a glimmer of hope in those eyes: her whole face seems aflame with new-found strength and conviction, as much as her words show.

He'd thought his truth would do little good but save the honour of a woman going off to her death for her friends. But now… Now, it seems the act of someone who's abandoned all hope is the one thing that rekindles hope in her comrade. What a paradox.

Paulie's woken up by now; and without knowing the whole story, he still orders the nearby Galley-La men to help the pirate girl and the reindeer. Iceburg quietly gets up on his feet, remembering an old secret; a discarded, dangerous prototype... Maybe the Strawhats will reach that train in time after all. But if not, maybe there's still another way.


	13. Loophole

Author's Notes: Originally written for the prompt "Mind Control" at the challenge community onepiece_300 on LJ. I'm afraid the central idea of this was blatantly stolen from one of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels. Set any time after Thriller Bark. Word Count: 298.

Loophole

Sogeking can only be whatever Usopp imagines him to be, and he's always imagined him as a pure, selfless, confident hero who will not intrude where he's not wanted. And so Sogeking stays put deep inside Usopp when he's not called for, knowing Usopp trusts him not to cross the boundary unasked. It's the hero's way.

But now, a terrifying new enemy has taken over young Usopp's regular mind, as well as the minds of young Zoro and young Robin. Sogeking can only watch in horror as his friend/host/creator attacks his own crewmates in concert with the other two, going all out and using his dirtiest, cleverest tricks, his most forceful attacks. Of course, the confused crew can't retaliate in kind, trying and failing to knock the three out harmlessly.

When Usopp aims an Atlas Comet at Chopper – an attack that wouldn't just hurt the reindeer badly from this short distance, but also blow him into the sea – Sogeking finds himself surging forward without even thinking, seizing control.

He wrenches his arm away, totters for balance, then turns and shoots the enemy instead. Yelping with outraged surprise, the mind-thief sends pain right into his head, then easily takes Sogeking's mind over. But now the regular Usopp, freed from control, pushes Sogeking away and also attacks the mind-thief. The enemy's full attention's on just the two of them now, and that's enough for Zoro and Robin to break free as well – and because of that, for the Strawhats to finally take the mind-thief down.

It's all over, thank goodness. Yet Sogeking knows something between them has changed forever. Maybe he had little choice and the best of reasons – but the covenant's been broken, the balance upset. And it's no longer so certain who among them is truly in control.


	14. Old Shadows

This one was inspired by the prompt "Nightmares" on onepiece_300, but was never posted there as it went way over 300 words (stopping at 559). Intended as a Franky/Robin ficlet, but I believe it can be read as a friendship fic as well – it didn't turn out very shippy. It's set pretty much anytime after Water 7/Enies Lobby.

Old Shadows

Franky sleeps soundly most of the time, especially these days, but tonight is one of those _other_ nights where that just won't happen. Old memories and half-forgotten faces in his head keep stirring when they should just be quiet; and stupid nameless unsuper worries for the future also keep rearing their head.

Finally he's had enough and steps out, trudging over to the galley for coffee and cola. And Robin is there.

"Hiya," he says, not feeling up for posing right now. She hums in reply.

Franky goes for the cola first, not filling himself up fully because then there's probably no hope of sleep. There's coffee left in the kettle.

"I couldn't sleep," she says, matter-of-factly, sitting quite straight. There's an open book on the table, but she's not reading it.

"Yeah, same here." He sits down, leaning back in his chair, half-wondering if he should take out his guitar.

"Nightmares," she goes on, in a lower voice. He shoots her a raised-eyebrow glance. Robin looks calm and collected, like always. But it's true that sometimes, very occasionally, Robin will say that kind of thing, exposing herself just a little bit, for just a moment. Almost as if she's daring herself to.

"Well. That sucks." Franky starts drinking the coffee, swears because it's too hot, then blows on the surface repeatedly before gulping down. "What kind?" he adds, because there's something about Robin's still, stiff figure and her serious face that makes him think she won't mind being asked.

Her eyes look distant now. "Oh, well... Mostly about a man I once killed to survive, long ago," she says, voice calm and clear. "There was a woman in black, and a young man. In the dream, I knew without telling they were the widow and son of that man, come for revenge. I was unable to move, and forced myself to wake up." She says the last part almost dismissively, almost embarrassed – but not quite.

Franky stirs his coffee with a spoon slowly, first in one direction and then the other. "Yeah," he says quietly. "I've had dreams in that kinda direction, once or twice."

Robin looks at him, eyes mild but steady. "I wasn't sure, but I thought perhaps you might have," she murmurs. Then she looks down at her cup of coffee, held with both hands. "I don't know why I dreamed of him particularly. There was nothing very remarkable about him, or the circumstances."

Franky shrugs. "Coulda just been his turn to be remembered. In the old memory line, y'know?" He starts to fiddle with the tunings of his guitar. "Not even Adam's wood is strong enough to keep bad dreams away... but things are better now, right?"

Her smile is a little melancholy, but still seems sincere. "Right," she agrees. She finishes her coffee, then puts the cup down. "I was thinking, since I won't fall asleep I might as well go up to the crow's nest and take over the rest of the watch from Nami." She tilts her head as she looks at him. "Care to join me?"

He grins and tells her that's the most super thing he's heard this week, and they get up and leave the galley together. It's still really dark outside, but Robin moves easily without hesitation. He knows she'll catch him if he'll stumble and fall.


	15. Shade and Sweet Water

This ficlet was originally written to the prompt "Summer" on onepiece_300, but later I expanded it from the challenge limit of 300 words to 491. It's set at least a month after the fall of Crocodile, and quite possibly a lot longer. (I'm not sure what season the Strawhats were in Alabasta, given that the drought was unnatural.) The title is stolen from the old American comic book "Elfquest", where it was a greeting phrase for a tribe of desert-dwelling elves.

The pairing is Vivi/Kohza. Rating: T or PG/PG-13.

Shade and Sweet Water

By now, the shift in the weather was clear. The warm, humid days of spring, bearable even in the noon hours, were giving way to the dry, scorching hot of an Alabastan summer. But though the subsoil water levels were still a lot lower than they used to be, there was still a lot of rain water saved; there were spots of green around waterholes, and people were facing the dry season with hope and a resolute good cheer rather than dread.

"How are your wounds?" Dressed in ordinary traveller clothes, Vivi sat down on the fallen palm tree next to Kohza.

"Tch. I think I'm officially well by now," he said, spreading out his fingers. "Worked all day digging wells yesterday and was just fine by evening." His tone of content belied the ironic twist to his lips.

Vivi chuckled. "Those new hot springs of your uncle's made the trick, I bet."

Kohza shrugged. "Heh. Maybe." He handed her the flask of cold tea by this side; she took it with a nod.

They were silent for a while, the air trembling with heat around them.

He wondered if he should ask how her pirates were doing, but decided against it. The last time she'd had news of them, it wasn't good. Maybe the World Government's information couldn't be trusted when it came to outlaws, but he still didn't want to bring it up if she didn't.

Kohza felt there were some things a former rebel leader could say, which had a greater weight coming from him. But there were also things he shouldn't say, lest he re-open old wounds of his war-torn country. Things like insisting royalty and commoners should be on a more equal footing, for instance. His motivations were suspect, too: maybe he only had those views because he'd like to tuck a strand of blue hair behind Vivi's air, to trace the line of her cheek, lean in close and kiss her neck, without feeling like an opportunistic and power-hungry social climber.

"Leader..." she said slowly.

"Mmhm?"

"It's getting too hot," she said matter-of-factly. "I'm dizzy."

He blinked. "Oh. Yeah. Really _is_ summer now, huh?" It was true, even this spot, the shade of the northern hillside, was getting too warm for comfort. "Want to go home?" To the old man's watchful eyes, alas.

"That might be good, or..." Vivi looked down, twiddling her thumbs. "...My tent's cool enough," she said quietly, almost under her breath. Maybe there was a flush of red on her cheeks.

Someday, he thought, he'd like to tell her that she's like the rain to him. Someday – not now. Not yet.

But summer was coming, and maybe you should take your shade where you could get it – accept it gratefully, like drinking fresh water out of cupped hands. So he followed her through the noon heat, then ducking under the flap of the tent to step into the lovely, cool darkness.


	16. In the Beginning

Author's Notes: This is an Usopp/Nami ficlet of 300 words originally written to the prompt "Myth" at onepiece_300. No actual spoilers, as it's not set at any particular time after entering the Grand Line. Rated T.

In the beginning

"Tell me - tell me how the world began," she says impulsively one day, as they're sitting close together under her trees. Usopp blinks in puzzlement, but Nami's often hard to figure out, and soon he's spinning out a tale, half-made up and half-cobbled together from all over the place. She removes his bandanna and runs her finger through his hair, and at the end, she moves into his lap and starts to feed him a tangerine, piece by piece.

"Now tell it another way," she requests, and before he knows it his hands are on her hips and she's leaning forward so her hair tickles the tip of his nose. He blushes, even though they've done stuff like this before, but then he finds his voice and an idea and gets going again. About the dawn of everything, of the creation of the Red Line and the four Blues, the Calm Belt and the Grand Line and all the islands; why there is light and day and sun and moon and people. He leans back against tree tree and she cuddles in closer, finally kissing him.

"One more," she whispers, in the mottled shade of the leaves, the afternoon sun sneaking through in small spots.

There's no need in her mind to explain it, how she wants to hear every story he can make up about this, every possible pattern and path that could have led to this moment - the sea all around them, the sturdy ship beneath them; all their crewmates and their dreams travelling on it - and the two of them here, together like his, his skin next to hers. The liar makes up a world for them to dwell in, while the thief steals them warmth and waves and happiness enough to get by.


	17. Funeral Pyre

Author's Notes: Originally written for the prompt "Fire" on the LJ challenge comm onepiece_300 from February this year. Word Count: 297

This one's Robin-centric, with spoilers up to and including chapter 430 (end of volume 44). I was trying for an elegiac flavour here. As always, concrit very much appreciated.

Reminder disclaimer: Oda owns these characters. They are used here without permission for entertainment only. May not be used for profit in any way, as no fanfic (and, I believe, fan art) should be.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Funeral Pyre

_It held on just long enough for the Galley-La to reach us_, thought Robin, looking back at the broken ship from the raft they'd been loaned; watching as her captain lowered a torch to set the hull on fire.

Inside her mind she saw other flames, from Ohara so long ago when fire, explosions and ice had eradicated her home island and everyone she had ever known. Until the sea was frozen with the one small opening left for her to escape on by the whim of a single Marine.

You had to protect yourself from burning down. And she had been cold, frozen inside, ever since.

Then another image filled her head, the one with the World Government's flag, burning.

Robin wasn't crying now, even as the masts broke and the timber crackled loudly, as smoke filled the air like memories. There was no need. She had cried enough last night, so many tears falling unstoppable as she had felt herself thawing, finally daring to have faith in others, to allow herself the will to live. To feel she had the right to exist and be a person.

_I will never forget that again_, she thought, standing with the others as their friend and home burnt down, hearing the spirit of the ship talk to her. To forget would mean she'd be dishonouring Merry's sacrifice as much as the struggles of her living crewmates who had fought and bled for her sake.

And as the voice stopped talking in her mind and the remains of the ship slowly turned to ashes and charred timber, she felt old shadows leave her at the same time - not forgotten but finally allowed to go, as if guided by the spirit of Going Merry down into the waiting waves.


	18. Even So

General Author's Notes: Starting to feel faintly ridiculous to keep posting to this collection when there seems to be so little interest, but I'll still keep it going a little bit longer. The lack of a relevant summary is probably a drawback with umbrella titles like this, though it may also be that my short pieces just aren't many people's cup of tea. Fair enough!

Specific Author's Notes: This ficlet of 241 words was originally written in response to the prompt "Apology" on a chaos thread. It's about Usopp's apology to the crew in manga chapter 438, "Pride". You won't relly get this if you haven't read that chapter (or seen the corresponding anime episode). It helps if you've read/seen Usopp vs Perona in the Thriller Bark arc as well.

Flavour is angsty, maybe even wangsty.

-x-x-x-x-

Even So

When he finally gives way and starts screaming his apology over the water there's both terror and relief in it. He's afraid, even mortified, because if they'll still leave him here he'll have nothing left at all – he'll have bone back on his word and broken his pride with nothing to show for it. But at the same time he's relived because even if that happens at least he iwill/i have done what he could to stop it. There's something cleansing about it.

The cold, hard _negative_ voice inside him is against this, though it rarely allies with his pride. Even right as he opens his mouth wide it still tries to stop him, pointing out that since they're all just fine going off without him, why should he inflict himself on them? It's not as if he's needed or anything.

But he pushes it away because he _knows _the negative voice is wrong, and the deep-seated feeling that he just plain belongs on that ship is stronger than pride – stronger even than need. Yet part of his apology isn't for mutiny and desertion but for going back on it now, for this very desperate honesty; for not being someone who's worth not abandoning – and maybe it's not just to them but to his own pride as well. It may be silly and childish and wrong-headed but it seems to him it does deserve regret when it's being ignored, even so.


	19. Stepping In

Author's Notes: 294 words, written to the prompt "Parent" on onepiece_300. This one's set long before the story starts and features Bellemère.

x-x-x

Stepping In

x-x

The village women told childbirth stories, now and then, when no men were present. To teenage girls, it sounded painful, gruesome, terrifying… but also, sometimes, like the best thing in the world. Like nothing could equal the feeling of having a newborn babe at your breast, flesh of your flesh, after you'd struggled so hard to bring it into the world.

She listened and remembered. But unlike the others, it felt far away to her. Children might come some day, but first she'd go out in the world and have adventures, fighting for justice.

Being a Marine was tougher and less clear-cut than she'd thought. There were corrupt, power-mad officers; strange orders from the top. It was sickening, at times. Still, she persevered.

Until the battle when so many died and she was badly wounded. She lay there unable to move, seeing nothing but darkness. _Enough, then. Let it end now_.

But then there were two children there. Not even sisters. The older one had found the younger, picked her up. Their parents – all dead. They'd die soon, too, if nobody did something.

She looked up, looked at the smaller one's laughing face, at the older one struggling to smile. Saw something more than darkness.

Stumbling to her feet, she looked around for water, food, shelter. Practical thoughts came back. The long trek home began.

She went through fire and blood, hunger and cold to get them all home. Two unknown mothers had once fought hard to bring Nami and Nojiko into the world. Now, Bellemère had to take over.

It wasn't a sacrifice. It was the only way back to life.

Perhaps she was an unnatural, artificial mother. But she figured all she could do was try her best – same as everyone else.


	20. Remembrance

Author's Notes: This ficlet was prompted by the theme "Anniversary" on, you guessed it, onepiece_300. Unusual for me, this features only unnamed citizens of Sakura Kingdom - formerly Drum Kingdom - and it's set in the future, but at no specific year. It's about Dr. Hiruluk's legacy and the night when Chopper left home. I've since expanded it very slightly from around 300 words to 324.

New nations need rites and ceremonies; they need stories that tell them who they are. Perhaps particularly so for a kingdom that lost its old name and its very soul but was redeemed and took itself a new name.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Remembrance

x-x

On that day, when twilight came everyone would put warm clothes on and gather in the street and the square, blowing out the lamps as they went. The shops and inns would close; a few select people would climb roofs and treetops while carrying special backpacks; and gradually, chatting and movement ceased and everyone waited as the sky grew dark, looking upwards.

The king didn't suggest it, nor did the old witch still living at the castle. It was ordinary citizens in different villages who'd thought it up, and they'd have gone through with it even without Dalton and Dr Kureha's co-operation.

The villages of Gyasta, which had a very good fiddler, would start playing a soft, gentle melody on the violin around then, while the other villages and Bighorn town preferred a solemn, respectful silence.

At seven o' clock, a single bell would chime in each village - and then, the big cannon sounded from the mountaintop. From roofs and treetops, the climbers scattered their burden. And to commemorate the day when the old tyrant had been defeated and the island was reborn, scraps of pink paper in the shape of cherry blossom petals fell down over the kingdom.

Some would raise their hands and laugh, trying to catch as many 'petals' as they could, for luck. Others kept quiet, just looking on and sighing with content.

It wasn't the same as that one wondrous night - it could never be the same, they would agree. But it still felt like a miracle of beauty and healing, now hallowed by memory, turned into tradition.

Afterwards, everyone cheered; music broke out; people would hug and exchange small petal-shaped pastries. In mild weather, people stayed outside for a while, drinking beer and eggnog. But most of the time it was too cold for that. So everyone would go into the village inn instead, feeling happy to be alive and to live on that very island.


	21. And The Walls Came Tumbling Down

Author's Notes: This was a non-angsty attempt to write a ficlet for the prompt "Broken" at onepiece_300. It's at 300 words and centres on Robin, who knows about walls and chains. If you've read an older Robin ficlet of mine (in the collection "Small Offerings To the God of Adventure"), you may recognise some themes.

Spoilers for the glimpses of Robin's whereabouts from chapter 524 and the cover pages to chapter 544 and 545. Contains speculation which has probably since been disproved by recent events shown in the anime.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

And The Walls Came Tumbling Down

x-x

She watched and waited and kept her guard down until the right moment came; then, she moved swiftly, taking down scores of guards before they could even sense what was happening. Soon, the uprising spread all over the construction, helped by the diversionary raid the revolutionaries provided, as promised.

As soon as she has time, she blooms enough hands that their combined power break through the iron chain links around her real wrists. The chains fall, heavy and broken at her feet.

She looks up to see the faces of her fellow prisoners, gaunt and grim, anxious and sad, wild with a desperate hope... Most of them are free already, by now, though a fair number had first used their very chains to fight with.

She smiles towards them. _Don't worry_, she'd like to say. _I know a man who can break through __**anything**__._ The walls of the greatest of strongholds, the most imposing fighters, the darkest of storm clouds, the most cunning plans… And who had kept ramming at the shields around her heart until even those formidable structures lay in pieces. She's seen him reach out and break through pride and fear and even ambition without even knowing he did so, just being who he was.

Compared to those things, what's a few hundred armed guards, an assortment of cannons, and a few thousand chains? Nothing. Oh, she's nowhere near as good at this stuff as her captain is, but he's taught her the importance of daring to break what should be broken, to let the light and the wind of freedom in. She only has to follow his lead.

She nods towards the nearest watchtower, currently abandoned. "I believe it's time for us to start tearing this place down," she tells the others, smiling. " Shall we?"


	22. The Prize

Author's Notes: Written to the prompt "Ink", this ficlet features the Usopp/Nami pairing and some light-hearted fluff, for once. ;) Three hundred words, set any time after Water 7/Enies Lobby.

-x-x-x-

The Prize

x-x

Nami's got first dibs on the bottles of ink, because sea maps need permanence, Franky makes his own super-ink for his designs, and because she's Nami. Chopper needs ink occasionally, but mostly he gets by on pencils, as do Robin and the others.

Usopp doesn't _need_ any ink. Only, sometimes he gets in the mood for an ink drawing, and then he'll sidle over to where Nami is with a pseudo-nonchalant look and, when she's looking up, start hinting and negotiating and wheedling.

It's a game by now. She usually plays dumb first, then demands ridiculously high prices – which he answers by extravagant, obviously lying offers. At some point, he might just drop that he could use the ink to paint a pretty girl – like, say, Nami – which earns him a sardonic look, but also a glint in her eyes that says, _Go on_. That's when he'll try his best to sound light-hearted and not too serious in talking about what makes her pretty – trying not to stutter too much over things that are actually, secretly, true.

At some point he might just get too silly, or grin and say something like, "I just want cool ink spots on my nose like you have, Nami" – so she'll throw something heavy at him. He'll dodge and slip close and snatch the bottle away, kissing her cheek in passing. Nothing gets paid – the kiss, and the game, is the true price paid.

He'll give her one of the paintings later, but it's never a portrait of her. She's made it clear to him she prefers pictures of other people – crewmates, or old friends they've left behind on their journey.

Better that way, he thinks, as he never seems to quite capture her right. But secretly, he saves most of the attempts anyway.


	23. Heartbeat

Author's Notes: Written to the prompt "Heart" at the LJ comm onepiece_300. Warning for a lot of angst. It's about the memories of heartbeat, metaphorical and actual.

Although this ficlet is very gen and quite devoid of romantic pairings, I believe a good background track for it would be the song "Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder" by the Beach Boys (it's more comforting than the fic, but I think it still fits).

SPOILER WARNING: This ficlet is set around now (as I write this, mid-June 2010) in the manga, though with flashbacks to the past. Spoilers for Marineford arc and for the subsequent chapters up to and including chapter 588. I'll include a bit of spoiler space below so the unwary reader who hasn't read that far will hopefully be able to back-track safely.

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

- okay, on to the ficlet.

-x-

Heartbeat

x-x

Once, when Luffy was seven years old, Sabo had said, "Hey, Luffy. Didya ever listen to the waves, really closely?" He paused, letting them both hear the steady beating waves upon rocks beneath them. "Don'tcha think it sounds almost like the beat of a heart?" He put his head to one side, "Or maybe someone breathing, like Ace said – but I think it's more like a pulse. Right?"

"What's a pulse?" Luffy asked. Sabo explained, putting Luffy's fingers on the inside of his wrist to demonstrate. Then he went on, "Imagine someone with a heart so big you can hear it on every shore in the world!" He grinned, pleased with his own imagination.

Luffy listened with wide eyes, but it wasn't until he was a few years older that he understood what his brother had meant. From then on, he'd think about it at times, listening to the waves. The sea was huge and dangerous and didn't like Devil Fruit users, but maybe it still took care of everyone in the end. Maybe it protected the souls of all the people who died in it.

But that was a long time ago.

When he dreamed now, on Kuja island, he returned to old memories of being little and cold and maybe just a little scared, when he'd inch over to wherever Ace was. Ace would mutter something in a grumbling tone, then put one arm over Luffy's shoulder, holding him close. Feeling his brother's heartbeat through the skin, Luffy would warm up and feel safe, no more trembling and sniffling, feeling warm and safe. And the Ace's heart would go on and on and never stop.

He could hear the waves on the nearby shore when he woke up. But it was only noisy water, nothing more.

/lj-cut


	24. Footholds

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Written to the prompt "Smooth" for onepiece_300. Three hundred words. This one is mostly gen, but Sanji's feelings for Nami come into it.

SPOILERS/SETTING: Set anywhere after Arlong Park with references to that story and to Sanji's backstory.

CONCRIT: as always, very much appreciated.

REMINDER DISCLAIMER: Oda owns these characters. They are used here without permission for entertainment only. May not be used for profit in any way, as no fanfic (and, I believe, fan art) should be.

x-x-x-x-x

Footholds

x-x-x-x-x

Whenever the ship makes anchor near land, Sanji has a habit of looking at the nearby rocks. If they are sharp, craggly things that seem easy to climb, he feels relieved and reassured; if they're all smooth, he'll get just a little anxious, though he knows it's irrational and they'll be just fine.

It's no mystery to him. Back _then_, that one little rock of an island had sides that were all smooth, offering not the tiniest hint of a foothold. The waters had fish in them, but as the shitty old man had said, there was no use in jumping in when there was no way to climb up.

He'd stared down into those waters for such a long, long time, seeing tantalising glimpses of seaweed, of shoals of fish passing by. But the rock was even, smooth, implacable.

_If you jump in, you will never get out._ And somehow, despite the pain and terror of those far-too-many-days, despite all the hallucinations, he'd never quite gotten bad enough to forget that and dive in.

The _Sunny_ is a strong, hardy ship, made of Adam's wood and sandpapered smooth to perfection. But Franky made sure to put in helpful decorations, window-frames, and other little bits of unevenness –enough for a good climber to use, particularly after he's just dived in after his idiot captain.

x-x-x

Sanji loves the perfect, soft smoothness of a pretty woman's skin; he strives to protect all the ladies of his heart from anything that could blemish them.

And yet... sometimes, when he watches the (barely visible) scars on Nami's left hand and shoulder, there's a part of him that feels almost grateful for them. As if they were tiny footholds.

He should probably feel ashamed over that. But somehow, he can't quite bring himself to.


	25. Bubbles

Author's Notes: Written for onepiece_300 and the prompt "rainbow". Rated K+. Features Caimie, Shakky and Hachi.

Spoilers/setting: Set almost any time between chapter 514 and chapter 594. Light spoiler for Chapter 594.

x-x-x

Bubbles

x-x-x

When the rain had stopped, the three of them went back out to the lawn of the Thousand Sunny, looking over the railing at the grove.

"Ah, this place..." said Shakky, blowing out smoke thoughtfully. "So pretty on the outside, so rotten and ugly underneath."

Hacchin didn't exactly disagree with her. Looking uncomfortable, he scratched his head and mumbled that nyuu, he kinda figured the biggest problem was the World Nobles. If only they weren't on the Archipelago, then maybe the decent people living there could try to change things for the better.

But Caimie didn't want to talk about that kind of thing - didn't want to think about explosive collars and auction houses and why you shouldn't ride the Ferris wheel when your skirt might fly up so people could see your tail. She didn't want to think of Hacchin getting shot, nor of full-force Marine assaults and the scattering of her friends and rescuers.

She knew she was only a silly mermaid with silly dreams who might never be able to repay her debt.

But she also thought to herself, _'It's not all rotten. It's not. Riding the wheel is dangerous - but that's not the Ferris wheel's fault.'_

Instead of listening to the other two, she flopped herself up to the railing and watched the bubbles in the grove, under the clear sky. And there, she saw the rainbow reflected in hundreds of little globes, glittering in the sunlight. All rising up from the mossy ground to slowly tumble in the air, shimmering with light and colours; until they rose higher than the ship, and popped. The air was fresh and cool, and the mangrove trees smelled so good.

She watched in silence, but with a small smile on her face. You couldn't capture a rainbow.


	26. Get Out While You Still Can

AUTHOR'S NOTES: First written for the comm onepiece_300 and the prompt "seize". The word count is 300. Contains mention/hints of lethal violence.

SPOILER WARNING: This ficlet takes place in the past, at the time when Luffy was seven years old. Spoilers for Luffy's backstory up to and including chapter 587: the character the story centres on is a spoiler, too.

As with the "Heartbeat" ficlet (#23), I put in some spoiler space for the benefit of any unwary readers who haven't read that far will hopefully be able to back-track safely.

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

-spoiler-

stop.

-x-x-x-

Get Out While You Still Can

x-x-x

Sabo couldn't stand hands grabbing him, tight clothes restraining him, houses closing in on him; making his future look narrow and cold. _Grab the moment. Get away while you still can._ He ran, and ran, and ran. To the Grey Terminal, and the wild mountains beyond.

Ace was fierce and suspicious but he never made people do something they didn't want. He was free and strong and proof that kids could be tough enough to survive. They soon became partners in crime; then, eventually, friends. And then, after Luffy turned up, they made themselves brothers. A real family.

-x-x-x-

Fear, nausea and despair clutched him tightly on that horrible day after he'd found out the town nobles' plans for the Grey Terminal, vainly running around trying to stop it; to warn his brothers and everyone else. It was hard to breathe.

He realised he couldn't ever stay here in his father's house, no matter what. Maybe he _could_ have borne it, if it was just him becoming small, hemmed-in and miserable - but no, they wanted him to be like _them_, all twisted and poisonous inside. Treating other people like they were worth nothing.

-x-x-x-

He had to believe Ace and Luffy had survived. But Sabo couldn't get to them anymore. His father's arms were too long, reaching everywhere on this island; iron bars and burned bodies and the smell of rot were in the way. Already the bars were closing in, again. Sabo had to get out.

He managed to slip through the cracks one more time, then stole a fishing boat. _Go_, his heart told him. _Now, before it's too late. You know you can't stay here. Go. Go. Go._ But he wasn't afraid, only excited and relieved.

He raised the flag that he'd made and set off, hope singing.


	27. Steady

Author's Notes: First written for the prompt "Storms" in the comm onepieceyaoi100, this features the Luffy/Usopp pairing. I'd rate it a K+, unless any type of romantic feelings counts as at least T. In this ficlet, Usopp thinks he can't be in love with Luffy. 298 words.

Concrit welcome, as always.

Spoilers/setting: No spoilers, really - while I think of this as set after Enies Lobby, it could just as well be from earlier in the series, too.

-x-

Steady

x-x-x-x

"Love is like a hurricane," Sanji sometimes proudly proclaimed, and despite his silly-looking heart-eyed spinning, Usopp felt he could well be right. Certainly love often seemed like that in stories – emerging from nowhere with great force, tossing people around, making them lose their footing and turning everything upside down. Much like a storm at sea, when you might slip on the wet deck and careened headfirst into the strong rubbery arms and wild laughter of your captain; when all you could do was to cling on for dear life.

But when Usopp thought about it, it wasn't really like that at all. Luffy was more like a well-built ship that always had the wind at its back. He swept you up and took you far away, but there was always strong, solid wood underneath. Luffy didn't make you lose your footing. He _was_ the footing.

So it probably wasn't love, then, Usopp thought as he and Luffy sat huddled together under a blanket – in their underwear, teeth chattering - next to the kitchen stove after the storm had passed. Sanji was making them hot toddy while loudly bitching them out for being careless idiots, the ship was swaying quite gently, Luffy's hair was tickling his ear and Usopp's cheeks were hot even before he was given his hot drink and gratefully took the first sips. Then he joined Luffy in pressing their luck and trying to cadge cookies out of Sanji.

Not Love-the-Hurricane - only something that was there, there always, as omnipresent as the sea, as constant as the waves; as wonderful as Adventure and closer, even, than Luffy's skin right now, only a good deal warmer.

He didn't know what to call it, but he felt that was okay. Even for him, words weren't always important.


	28. One Hour Left To Breathe

Author's Notes: First written for the comm onepiece_300 for the prompt "Final Hour", later substantially expanded from 298 words to 548 and from six characters to seven.

This features characters tied to the pasts of different Strawhats (though none for Sanji and Brook). Warning for canon angst and sadness, for mentions of violence and implied death.

Spoilers up to and including chapter 574.

As always, Oda owns this, and I am writing them without permission. Not to be used for profit.

-x-

One Hour Left To Breathe

-x-x-

It's an ordinary morning, the sunlight streaking in on the lawn outside the dojo, blackbirds singing in the trees. Kuina wipes the sweat away and starts on another kata. The bamboo practice sword is light in her hands.

Soon, it will be time to go up in her house for breakfast. But she can fit in one more form before that.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Hiruluk stuffs the bombs and the explosive liquid inside his coat, then buttons it carefully. He can feel the mushroom's poison spread through his decaying body. But he feels calm, at ease. One hour or two weeks, what does it matter? The miracle powder exists now. And Kureha will take care of the boy.

"To the castle," he mumbles, setting off in the deep snow.

-x-x-x-

Bellemere starts chopping up meat for dinner, her calm returning after the blow-up with Nami. It will be all right. Nojiko will bring her sister back, and Bellemere can apologise for losing her temper. Next time, she'll try to be more patient, like a proper parent.

The dinner will be frugal, but still tasty and nourishing enough, she thinks, choosing tangerines to make a sauce from. The girls will probably like it.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Tom walks on his own two feet through Justice Island, not letting them drag him by the chains. There's a big hall and a fool of a three-headed judge who insists he's brought up to him, even though the sentence is already decided. But Tom just laughs him away.

Why bother? As if they could truly hurt him. His treasures are safe, back home.

-x-x-x-x-

It can't be long, now.

Outside, her son is shouting as he runs up to the house. Banchina struggles for air, fights with what little strength she still has to find the right words, the good words; the ones that most need saying.

_May he never grow bitter._ Warm sunlight through the window. No time for regret.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

There's no time to rest on the native soil, no time to stop and greet people properly. And she'd be doing Robin no favours by seeking her out. The child will be safe as a civilian with her brother's family.

But death and destruction is following on Nico Olvia's heel for all her brother scholars as for herself, so very close behind. It's her own fault. She hurries towards the Tree of Knowledge, praying there'll be enough time to make everyone listen and escape this beloved place. There may be an hour or so left. Perhaps that will be enough.

-x-

He always knew it might end like this, with the wood of the execution platform under him, the two crossed blades in front of him, waiting for the order to rise and strike. When you went out on sea seeking fame and freedom, you had to be ready for it. And his life had been his own to risk.

But to drag everyone down with him, to be forced to see them all like that – Father, Luffy, everyone, fighting, bleeding, even dying just trying to rescue him – no, _that_ he had never counted on.

And yet, they wouldn't listen to him, and to keep railing, keep despairing would be to disrespect them.

He tries to hold himself upright, waiting for whatever will come.


	29. What Now?

Author's notes: Originally written for onepieceyaoi100 on Livejournal, this ficlet is set in a Divergence AU where the Marineford battle ended differently. Perhaps Blackbeard was delayed and Shanks arrived about 15 minutes earlier, resulting in a different outcome from canon. A gen piece, no pairings.

What Now?

His feet seem so light as he returns to the fleet, as if hardly touching the deck. As if he's as fleeting and light as a shadow.

(_Don't think so much,_ Marco tells him, _just relax and be here with us. Watch the clouds and have another drink._)

Oars is dead, so many others are dead, but he's nto supposed to think about that. He's not supposed to worry about Whitebeard's wounds that don't seem to get better as the days pass.

(They all worry, anyway, but nobody says anything.)

He does his job as well as he can, keeping everyone under his command tallied, helps relieving the shipdoctors of their other duties, sending out parties to get the crew moe medicine. He takes care of stray Marine ships and foolhardy pirate challengers.

But he still feels light and shadowy. As if he's not truly there.

Keeping watch one starry night, a great weight hits him and he sinks down on the planks of the crow's nest, his hands gripping the railing tight.

_What do I do now? What I am here for?_

Because he knows now: he set out to sea to see if he could be a person worthy of living. To see if anone out in the great world could love him.

He got his answer. It's the one he'd hoped for, but it still shakes him, knowing it for sure.

In these still, gray days, as the Whitebeard pirates huddle together to start healing, as the life of their Captain slowly leaks out through far too many wounds, Ace wonders what his goals should be now, and if he still needs to be a pirate at all.


	30. Disarmed

Originally written for a chaos thread to the prompt "To (Two) Arms", this shortfic has 985 words and features Nami and Robin. It was first intended as a pairing fic but it ended up being pretty much gen, at most pre-shippy. The individual rating is a strong K+ or a mild T for violence.

Note: This contains unconfirmed speculations Robin's Devil Fruit abilities and of Nami's new weather skills.

Title: Disarmed

Disclaimer: One Piece is owned by its creator Eiichiro Oda. A few of its characters are used here without permissionfor entertainment purposes only. This fic is not to be used for profit.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Honestly," muttered Nami, her voice shaking slightly as she tied a makeshift sling for Robin's right arm, "of all the ways you could have picked to get hurt, you just _had_ to pick that one... Don't move that arm until Chopper's had a look at it."

"My apologies," said Robin with a faint smile. "I was careless." She looked at Nami - bruised, sweaty and dirtied, her clothes dusty and torn - suspecting she looked much the same. Nami had already bandaged the wound right above her own knee, as well as the one that ached in Robin's left thigh.

Robin tugged the sling tentatively. "This feels like it will hold. I think we need to move on," she said. Nami nodded, grabbed the Climatact and her wind knots, then paused to look around. They were quite exposed here, on this plowed field outside the island's main city, where their mysterious enemy had attacked them in great number. Should they head for the city gates, or back to the ship the way they'd come? Either goal was too far right now, thought Robin muzzily: better find some temporary shelter first.

Nami started to walk towards an old shed that had been half blasted away in one of the explosions, Robin following with a limp.

"Will you be all right, that way?" said Nami, glancing at the broken arm. "Or... maybe you could just bloom new ones?" she added hopefully.

"I could," said Robin, lowering her voice, "but any right arm I bloom will be just as broken as the real one. I can only fight with left arms right now."

"Oh." Nami frowned as she used a windknot to unleash a strong wind that blew away the pack of mean armed with clubs and sickles that had just popped up from behind a fence. "I didn't know it was like that," she remarked. "You never said."

"It's embarrassing," said Robin. She bloomed a foot to trip the large who just came at them from behind, then slapped him, grabbed his sword, slashed his knees and threw his sword far away. All done with left arms only, which made the moves slower and clumsier. "Having a weakness like that."

Nami hummed thoughtfully. "Well, I can understand that. And you wouldn't want enemies to find out... still, might be good for us to know."

"I suppose," said Robin vaguely. Her head felt warm and fuzzy, the blood of the wounds pulsating loudly and the ache in her thigh greater for every step. Suddenly, she stumbled on the uneven ground.

Nami caught her quickly. "Take it easy. Lean on me," she said in a low tone, worry mixed with firmness in her voice. Robin allowed herself to do so, relieved there were no enemies between them and the broken shed. She closed her eyes for one moment and focused. "Ojo de Fleur."

There was no-one hiding behind the shed or in the tree above it, either. She told this to Nami, who kept holding her steadily, one arm across her shoulder. Behind them, the battle din went on.

Robin concentrated on putting her feet right so she wouldn't fall. "I like _your_ arms, they're nice," she found herself mumbling. "Safe... I like your tattoo." Then she blinked, as Nami stopped walking and stared at her. By this time they had almost reached the shed.

"Thanks... but are you feeling all right, Robin? You don't sound like yourself..." She put one hand on Robin's forehead. "Shit. I think you have a fever."

"Oh." Robin could think of nothing to reply to that. Her thoughts felt sluggish and bogged-down. Finally she just shrugged, then winced at the ache in her arm.

"Just... keep going," murmured Nami worriedly, as she led Robin the last few steps to the limited shelter of the ruined farmer's shed. She made Robin sit down on a creaking bench by the wall. Robin slumped back in great relief, even though she was aware they were still very much in danger.

"That leg wound you've got," said Nami now, her weapons readied again as she peered around corners and the tree trunk, "it was from a sword, right?"

"Little scratch," said Robin, not able to summon more words as a great fatigue swept over her. "Not much."

Nami chewed her lip. "...But what if... what if the sword was poisoned?" she said. "And that's why you're feeling odd..."

Robin frowned. "Kind of... overkill?" she said. In her experience, poison was usually expensive, and impractical for melée fighting. Then she shrugged again; what was there to do about it, after all? Either way, nothing to be done until Chopper could get here. She wished to say that she had full faith in Nami's ability to take care of things for now, but all the right words had gone into hiding.

Nami sat down beside her and held her, letting Robin lean on her again. She smelled so warm and strong and reliable. "Nice," Robin mumbled again, hardly realising she was speaking aloud. "Was held by arms like this, once. Long ago." A crouching figure with white hair, arms around the small child she had been, holding her like they never ever wanted to let go. But they had.

Robin felt embarrassed again but wasn't sure why. Everything seemed to be floating away from her.

She closed her eyes. "I'm not sure you ought to fall asleep," Nami's voice said, hoarse with worry now. But Robin was blooming eyes again, all around the field of battle. Then she looked up, into Nami's eyes, smiling warmly.

"Brook and Zoro at five o'clock, coming closer. Chopper at eight o'clock... better signal them. Be careful," she added as her eyes swam closed, only hearing Nami's whoop of delight and feeling herself gently propped towards the wall before sinking into blessed sleep, figuring she was about as safe as she could ever be.


	31. Making Adventures

This shortfic features Usopp and an OC child of him and Kaya. It's in reply to a request for Usopp-fic using the prompt "bedtime stories". The child's name was nicked from a forthcoming fic by Tonko (with permission).

Rating is G, word count around 670.

Title: Making Adventure

Disclaimer: One Piece is owned by its creator Eiichiro Oda. A few of its characters are used here without permissionfor entertainment purposes only. This fic is not to be used for profit.

Usopp had been pretty sure that of all the myriad challenges of parenthood, telling his daughter bedtime stories would be a cinch. After all, he was good with kids, and he was _great_ with stories, able to draw both on his fertile imagination and, these days, a fount of wild and varied experiences. And he'd always been able to entertain her mother, after all.

But little Saga turned out to be quite an unpredictable audience. She could get bored and restless on the parts he'd thought would thrill her the most, the flights of fancy he'd tried to tailor for her age... only to get mesmerised at something much more mundane and ordinary. Once she could talk more, she'd sometimes stop the story to ask him about details, again usually not stuff he would have figured she'd wonder at. He'd start explaining and trip himself somewhat, but then a new idea would come out in the process and the tale would turn in another direction.

It was a good thing, he decided: it kept him on his toes. Even if some nights when he was feeling sleepy he might have wished for the smoother reception that could come at other times when she would just nod and take everything in.

There were times when Kaya would have to remind him that in this case, his audience falling asleep during the telling was _not_ a failure but in fact a good thing. When he got caught up in the story, he forgot that on occasion.

Saga's tastes in stories came and went in phases. For a time when she was five, she only wanted animals in her stories, no humans at all. Later at six she went through a period when the stories had to be full of princesses – not just the main character, but also at least one of her friends, helpers, even sometimes her enemies... And then for a while she only wanted stories that were set on land, though that phase didn't last long.

And now, at eight...

Usopp knocked on the doorframe and then leaned into Saga's room. "Heya! Got time for a story?"

Saga sat up straighter in bed in her red striped pajamas, looking expectant. "You're late!" she scolded.

"Sorry," said Usopp, grinning as he stepped inside. "I had to finish a letter. Now..." – he pulled the chair he always used over to the bed – "want a book-story or a made-up story?"

"Made-up story!" said Saga immediately. This was a ritual by now, the question and answer. Saga loved being read to from books as well, but that was more Kaya's shtick on the whole.

Usopp sat down on the chair and scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Made-up it is, then. Do you want to start a new one, or..."

"No, no, no!" Saga shook her head forcefully. "We have to finish the one we're already telling first!"

"Oh, yeah, that one." Usopp clicked his tongue. "Right, that one... what's its name again?"

"_Da-ad_. You always forget." Saga sighed, then quickly went on, "It's 'The Pirate Princess from the Island of Roses and her Big Fight against the Evil Lord of Blood-Sucking Monsters'! Chapter 12." Saga crossed her legs as she sat in the bed and propped up her favourite stuffed animal next to her. She eagerly went on, "And I wanna tell the start of this part 'cause I think I know what happened first, but you're gonna have to take over after that, okay?"

"It's a deal," said Usopp, who suspected he had way too much fun for this to count as Proper Parenting Dutywork. "Okay, so..." he said, in case she needed a reminder, "I think the last part ended with our heroine and her trusty first mate about to sneak into an abandoned Marine fort..."

"But maybe it wasn't really abandoned!" Saga whispered, thrilled.

"Exactly," said her father, nodding. "So what happens next, then?"

"Well, um, it was like this..." Saga leaned forward and started to tell the story, eyes shining.


	32. Roll The Dice

A Pauliecentric ficlet rated G that was first written for the prompt "Sin" at onepiece-300. No pairings. A little under 300 words.

Title: Roll The Dice

Disclaimer: One Piece is owned by its creator Eiichiro Oda. A few of its characters are used here without permissionfor entertainment purposes only. This fic is not to be used for profit.

-x-

He's got it good, these days. There's no island in the world he'd rather live on than Water 7, no company he'd rather work for than Galley-La; no boss he'd want to follow but Iceburg.

Paulie is exactly where he wants to be, doing what he wants to. He's damn lucky, and he knows it.

But that's got nothing to do with it. People don't get that. That has nothing to do with why he'll perk up at the sound of rolling dice, the shuffle of a deck of cards; why he can't resist taking a bet – any old bet – in his daily life; why his feet keep taking him to gambling joints once work is over.

When you send those dice spinning, lay your cards down; when the game is in motion, there's a special magic like nothing else. It's like hearing Luck itself, all sharp-edged and shiny, spinning on edge just for you; like feeling a door of sheer opportunity open. Knowing you might just get to fly on the wind of fortune as it blows your way at last, beating the odds to glorious triumph.

And it's just plain fun. Oh, losing isn't fun, and he does that a lot. But being in the moment, riding the thrill – nothing can beat that.

Of course, it can be dangerous too – destructive, if you're careless. He's seen that before. Still, he's managed to hold up so far, and has sworn to never let it hurt anyone else.

Deep inside him, Paulie believes that chasing the thrill somehow even protects his current happiness. It's his one remaining sin, these days: without it, everything would be _too_ good. Too perfect. No telling what might happen then.

Only way not to risk losing it all is to keep playing.


	33. Soot

I first wrote this ficlet for the prompt "Fire" on onepiece-300 (it was my second time writing for that prompt); later I expanded it to 433 words.

It's set after the first 10 or so pages of chapter 589. Featuring Dadan and Makino, it's rated PG for mention of canon violence. No pairings, only the unlikely friendship of bandit leader and innkeeper.

Title: Soot

Disclaimer: They're owned by Oda: this was written without permission for non-profit entertainment purposes only.

It took Dadan over a year to stop twitching and inwardly flinching in the present of big fires; in the beginning, she was even wary around small household flames. Of course it bugged her, and she did her best to hide it - bandits weren't supposed to be squeamish. Even Luffy and Ace, grief-struck as they were, didn't seem to feel that way.

It was less the heat, flames and pain that would come back in her mind than the smoke and the terrible smell, the soot and charred remains, the lack of air... And the _knowing_ of it all, even though she'd seen many more injustices, even though she had few illusions about the fairness of the world or of those who ruled it. She was an outlaw who could only expect a summary execution if captured, and that was the law all over on all sorts of islands, as she understood it.

Yet the Gray Terminal Fire still pressed down on her chest in those moments when she looked at the fire too closely. To know for sure that the rulers of this island would slaughter their own subjects purely for being an embarrassment, for living on the garbage the rulers themselves had thrown out... In her darker moments it made her feel as if the whole land around her were nothing but soot and ashes, with soot stains on the souls of all the surviving adults with it, who had to compromise to survive.

Makino came over one chilly day when Dadan had let the fire die out. She didn't say much, just knelt down and made a new one, then put a kettle on it for tea. Embarrassed, Dadan moved closer to the hearth to warm up, then forced herself to look into it.

The smoke and the smell and the ashes returned again, but now Makino was taking Dadan's hands in hers, holding them close, warming them. Slowly the memories retreated far into the fire: not disappearing entirely, just not as much _ther_e right then. The smell of tea leaves started to fill the air.

"...Thanks," muttered Dadan after taking one deep shuddering breath, thankful no-one else was around. Her hands stopped trembling. Makino let go, smiled, but didn't say anything. Instead she just poured them both tea without comment. They drank it slowly. Outside, in the gray-green woods, a gentle spring rain had started to fall.

Dadan held on to the new calm inside her, the fragile balance that was helped by Makino's quiet presence beside her, trying to remember that fires could be like this, too.


	34. A Gift To Pay Forward

First written for the prompt "Language" at onepiece-300, this is a G-rated Chopper genfic of nearly 300 words. Concrit, as always, much appreciated.

Disclaimer: The characters and situations of One Piece were created and are owned by Eiichiro Oda. They are used here without permission for entertainment purposes only.

Title: A Gift To Pay Forward

-x-x-x-x-x-x

Before the fruit, he could speak to his own kind, though he only heard harsh words. He could talk to ptarmigans and crows, to lapahns and hiking bears. From afar, he heard humans talk, and could guess their meaning.

The fruit made the herd drive him away for good. But now, he realised as he ventured near the humans, he could speak to them in their language, form words they would understand.

They didn't listen. They screamed, threw stones, shot their guns at him. A talking monster was still a monster.

And then Doctor came, saw that he was bleeding, started to talk to him, yell at him: as if the monster was worth taking care of. Because Doctor always wanted to cure everyone.

He gave him a hat and a name, bandages and clothes, warmth and friendship. Doctor gave him everything. And eventually, Chopper dared to start talking again. Slowly he tried to get used to being talked to like a person; being listened to in return. He listened to Doctor's stories avidly, while Doctor's books teased him with hidden, awe-inspiring knowledge.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Neither Doctor nor Doctorine ever told him he could be a bridge between humans and animals. Chopper discovered that on his own when he first came aboard the Going Merry, translating his new comrade Karoo's speech to his other comrades. It made him shiny and wobbly with even more unaccustomed happiness. He could be useful in this way, too.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Chopper is no good at making language that doesn't reflect his thought and feelings - lying will never be one of his strengths. And some things remain too deep and private to put into words. But he also knows that language is a gift to be cherished. Like two friends talking together by the fireside, while the snowstorm rages outside.


	35. Resonance

100 words from Zoro's POV not long after his acquisition of the "demon steel" Sandai Kitetsu in Loguetown. Originally written for the prompt "Resonance" at onepice-300, where it had the title "Let's See What's Stronger", but upon reposting I thought the prompt itself made for a better title.

Rating is G.

Title: Resonance

Disclaimer: The characters and situations of One Piece were created and are owned by Eiichiro Oda. They are used here without permission for entertainment purposes only.

-x-x-

He'd made a reckless bet, had kept his arm and won the cursed blade, exulting in the serene chance of that moment as the sword spun in the air above him. _What happens, happens._ Had sensed the will in that steel speaking out to him, understanding him.

Wadō was his main strength and focus, always. But this blade spoke of chaos, wildness, pride... and exhilarating danger. No longer his own man, charged with protecting his captain and crewmates, Zoro needed that edge. He'd rein in its dark, destructive spirit, enjoying the sweet temptation of freedom, the satisfying strength of control.


	36. The Hero's Cape

This one was originally written for the prompt "Red" at onepiece_300. Usopp-centric from around the end of volume 38 (i.e. where a certain mysterious masked hero turns up). Around 225 words. Feedback very welcome.

Disclaimer: The characters and situations of One Piece were created and are owned by Eiichiro Oda. They are used here without permission for entertainment purposes only.

The Hero's Cape

-x-x-x-x-

It had lain forgotten on the floor of the Sea Train, next to a colourful mask. He'd seen them both earlier, taking note of them: typical Water 7 masquerade items. Now he dove back into the car to quickly grab the items before returning to the roof.

It could have been any colour and he'd still taken it: he was in no position to pick and choose. But it felt right that the cape happened to be deep red, the colour of wine. In his mind, red was the strongest colour, one that spoke of great deeds and bravery and pride; of fighting strength and hope defiant. Just the thing for a made-up man in a cape and a mask who was ready to take on the World Government itself by the Strawhats' side, as the normal, weak Usopp couldn't hope to do. Red was the colour for heroes.

Luffy's vest was bright red.

Well. That was the real deal, of course. This was just the fake.

Yet he knew he had no choice but to believe in the fake with all the power he was able to summon; to make this lie into an impossible truth. Or else something in him that was already tattered and torn would unravel to the very last thread. And there wouldn't be much point after that.


	37. Like A Second Skin

This Kaku-centric ficlet was originally written for onepiece-300, using the challenge prompt "Two-Faced". It's set after the CP 9 cover page story ends and was rated G at Livejournal.

Disclaimer: The characters and situations of One Piece were created and are owned by Eiichiro Oda. They are used here without permission for entertainment purposes only.

Like A Second Skin

-x-x-

Not all undercover agents approach their work the same way, and Kaku's still quite young. But he already knows that when it comes to him, he does his best work when he can genuinely like whoever he pretends to be.

And never more so than in Water 7, where he was for so long. It all rather grew on him, his life there: his own keen, neat, and honest workman persona; his boss and co-workers at Galley-La; his tasks and habits; the people around him, the cityscape itself... It was fake, it was pretence, and he threw it all away instantly at the end when the order came, secretly relieved he could do so without hesitation. He never forgot his purpose, not even for a second.

Yet he liked it all well enough while it lasted. At times, he'd even let himself bask in the pleasure of being Kaku the uncomplicated shipwright.

Now the Government that they did this all for has rejected them, seeking their arrest. But there's no way back to civilian life, not for them. Their training, their past work, even their very nature now prevents them from that choice. Besides, the World Government could change its mind one day: if Spandam falls, they might still get pardoned. Meanwhile he and the others mostly stay hidden on a secret island where they train new recruits – building for the future, as they must. There will always be a need for people like them.

But sometimes, there is also a need for repairs on their island, or for constructions. He's always the first one to volunteer then, smiling brightly. His hands feel happy to hold hammer and saw and wrench once more; to briefly be useful in a different way than usual.

He hums a little while he works, whistles even. And tells himself he does not miss that distant city of canals that he can never go back to.


	38. In Our Footsteps

A ficlet first posted at onepiece-300 for the prompt "AU". I chose to go with a rather simple and limited what if-AU within the canon universe. There's only one real change to start with, namely someone living on who died in a canon backstory. This spoils some things we learned in flashbacks during the Marineford War arc; and is in any case much easier to understand if you've read that far. - Obviously with so few words this is only a snapshot of an AU, though.

Disclaimer: The characters and situations of One Piece were created and are owned by Eiichiro Oda. They are used here without permission for entertainment purposes only.

In Our Footsteps

-x-x-

Portgas D. Ace, now a Whitebeard Pirate for real, wandered over to where his former first mate was sitting in a quiet corner of the festive ship, holding a solitary bottle.

"So. What are you going to do?" he asked, sitting down beside her.

Kuina looked down at her sword, Wado Ichimonji. She ran one hand up and down the sheath, taking her time to answer.

"Well..." she said slowly, "I can see now that Whitebeard really is a great man. I'm glad you've stopped trying to kill him, but..." She paused. "He's not the captain I chose to follow."

Ace only nodded quietly, the faint breeze messing up his wavy hair. He looked much more at peace than she was used to seeing him.

"I can't decide what to do," she muttered "It's bothering me." Her fingers trailed the end of the scar Mihaw k had given her, stopp right under her collarbone. "Don't tell this to anyone else, Captain, but... I feel like I should have come so much farther by now. That boy I told you about, younger than me... he's coming up after me, he'll get to the Grand Line eventually. I don't want to disappoint him." She sighed heavily. "But I don't _really_ feel like leaving, either."

Ace looked out at the waves and smiled. "You know, I've wondered much the same thing recently, about what Luffy will think," he said. "But not anymore. Because I'm sure now."

"I guess we both have little brothers of sorts coming after us…" she said pensively. Then she suddenly grinned. "...Bet mine's dumber than yours."

He laughed. "Deal. But I'll win that bet."

She drank from her bottle, then handed it to him. "I wouldn't even be a pirate if it wasn't for you," she said quietly.

"I know."

"I hate not being sure," she blurted out.

He chuckled at that. "I know." And didn't press her anymore.

She knew she needed more time to decide. Or to find whatever excuse she needed to be fine with not leaving after all.

They finished the bottle together in silence.

-x-x-

End Notes: The idea of Kuina joining the Spade Pirates was influenced by the splendid fic Overlap by Tonko - though in that AU Ace was Luffy's _younger_ brother, Zoro died as a child, and many other things also differed from canon.


	39. Comes With The Territory

Author's Notes: I got an anonymous prompt asking for a scene with Garp and young Ace, Luffy, and/or Sabo. I went with Sabo, though the other two appear as well. This expands on a moment shown very briefly (one panel only) in chapter 585 of the manga. I believe the anime also expanded on it, but I haven't tried to comply with the anime version. Entirely gen, rated G or K.

Comes With The Territory

-x-x-x-

Dadan hadn't really been that hard to handle. Sabo had simply taken his cue from Ace and from Luffy and put on his very best Gray Terminal, putting as much confident cheek as he could into his face and his speech. After all, when even crybaby Luffy wasn't afraid of her, the old bat couldn't be that bad, could she? And sure, she got mad and shouted but it was an accepting kind of mad. She was a bit like Ace in some ways, he thought.

But Monkey D. Garp... that was a different thing altogether. No use taking his cue from the other two with him, since both Luffy _and_ Ace (Ace!) were frightened of him. In the past, Sabo had laughed at those tales of Ace's scary grandpa (who turned out to be Luffy's scary grandpa too, confusingly, even before they all became brothers). But that had been back when he'd lived in the relative safety of Gray Terminal, far away from mad Marine officers.

He glanced nervously at his two brothers, both sporting huge brand new lumps on their heads and cowering away from the huge man standing in front of him. Sabo swallowed as he looked back up at Garp - he was just a little bigger than Dadan, but seemed to loom much larger. He tried to grin, but it wouldn't come out cheeky, only weak.

"Ho there!" boomed Garp. "So you're the street hoodlum from the garbage town I've heard of, the one that's corrupted my oldest grandson? Ehh?" He grinned as he said it, his huge teeth glinting. Sabo took an involuntary step backwards. In a way he rather liked how Ace's grandpa put things, but... the Marine was so big and so close and his hands were very large and strong, and he kept smiling like that.

"Hey, that's not really..." muttered Ace from his corner, frowning. But Sabo grabbed hold of his hat and got out, "Th-that's right!" in response.

"Name's Sabo!" he went on, standing really straight, his arms crossed stiffly over his chest. "And I'm Ace's brother now! And Luffy's too!" There, he'd gotten it out. He exhaled, sweat all over his forehead.

"Oho? Rrreally now?" said Garp, a kind of weighing tone to his voice. At least he didn't seem angry, not yet.

"Yeah, really!" said Ace, who'd grabbed hold of his pipe and was standing beside Sabo now, still pale but glaring at his terrifying grandpa all the same. "We had a ceremony and everything."

"Yeah, that's right!" Luffy grinned as widely as Garp at that, forgetting the lump he'd just cried over.

"You don't say." Garp looked down at Sabo again, consideringly. Man, did he have to _glint_ so much? Sabo had no idea what else to say, but he could tell something Not Very Good was afoot.

"So you're now the brother of both my grandkids," he mused, then suddenly grinned _really_ large and scarily in his white beard. "Think you're ready to handle a new grandpa, too?"

Sabo's throat went dry. Not looking at Ace and Luffy again, he very vividly recalled all their stories of horrible training they'd been put through. He opened his mouth, the words _Um, I'm not too sure it has to work that way_ on his tongue – after all, they certainly didn't share the same _father _– but then froze. This was some kind of test, wasn't it?

Garp was scary. His training methods were painful and insane... but he was still Luffy's and Ace's Grandpa. Those two had him in common. And he was _strong_. Really strong - Sabo was already pretty damn sure Garp was stronger than anyone he'd met before. Stronger than Porphyry, stronger than Bluejam, stronger than any of the King's soldiers, anyone in his father's service...

He knew that Garp wasn't free the way a pirate captain was free, since he worked for the World Government. He would have orders from higher-up to follow. But he let Ace grow up here in secret, even so. Just because he wanted to. And he had the look of someone who wouldn't let anyone force him to do what he didn't want to do. The same look Ace had. Sabo wanted that; and he _really_ didn't want to be left behind while his brothers grew stronger...

So he shoved his fear aside and grinned mightily himself, as widely as he could. "Sounds good to me! I can handle you anytime, old Geezer-Gramps!" Then he tried to leap aside, but Garp was faster: one huge blow and he flew out the door of Dadan's house and across the clearing to land in a bush.

He stumbled to his feet unsteadily, hat flown off and a new lump throbbing in his forehead, then turned around. All three of them were outside the house now: Ace and Luffy both seemed to be attacking their grandpa in retribution and trying to run the hell away from him at the same time, screaming loudly. Those idiots! What were they even _doing_?

Sabo ran to grab his own pipe and join in.


	40. Indebted

This ficlet comes from the prompt "Debt" on a chaos thread on the comm zosopp at Livejournal – which is a Zoro/Usopp pairing site, but this particular ficlet is all gen and doesn't even have any intentional subtext.

Rated G. Set on Little Garden in vol 14 and 15. Word count: around 410.

Title: Indebted

-x-x-x-x-

Usopp knows, he really does know that crewmates are not supposed to go around feeling indebted to each other. That's not how it's supposed to work. Sure, he's grateful whenever someone saves him – and that does happen a lot, yes he's quite aware of that, thank you – but that doesn't mean there are tallies where people are keeping score. Not even Sanji and Zoro with their constant bickering seem to regard it that way, really. They're all crew, they all stand up for each other and that's it.

Even so, Usopp still feels ashamed when he thinks about that one time by Nami's island when he had jumpes ship with Johnny, abandoning the wounded and tied-up Zoro to the Arlong Pirates. His conscience had caught up with him eventually on that day, but he never actually wound up doing anythingdid anything to make up to it, the way things turned out.

He suspects Zoro's long forgotten about it already, and it's not like Usopp spends a lot of time thinking about it either, but every now and then that memory still stings him. It's different from all the other times when he was just too weak or too slow. A debt of honour. And Usopp has no idea how to go about even trying to repay that.

And so maybe, _maybe_ there's an extra smidgeon of satisfaction in that triumphal moment on Little Garden, as Mr 3:s diabolical wax trap goes up in flames. For a few seconds he feels like the score might be even, that maybe the debt is now paid.

Then Miss Valentine and Mr 5 target him again and those three he just saved rescue him right back, Zoro looking cool as hell with three flaming swords. And so there goes the score, back to normal. Of course, if he hadn't done that Usopp might be dead now, so it would be pointless – not to mention ungrateful as hell – to feel sulky about it.

_Maybe this is the price I have to pay for being so cowardly back then._ An unwelcome thought, that.

He pushes it aside as best he can and goes on to make jokes and eat crackers with the others, celebrating they're alive and not being sulky. The thought settles quietly within him, like a snake all coiled up, but that's just what dark thoughts do. _One day it will be different,_ he tries telling himself. _I'll clear myself one day._ Perhaps he's right.


End file.
